Meet Angelica Tan | Artist & Accountant

We had the good fortune of connecting with Angelica Tan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Angelica, how do you think about risk?
Taking risks is the key part of living! I also believe that taking risks is how to become successful in whatever you want to be. Because the only way that you can get to where you want to be, or even move forward, is to ask, “what if?” To me, the biggest “successes” in my life were being able to obtain opportunities that progressed from goals in my aspiring career. One of the quotes that I live by is “luck is preparation meeting opportunity. If you hadn’t been prepared when the opportunity came along, you wouldn’t have been lucky,” by the queen, Oprah Winfrey herself. I find that the best opportunities actually come from taking the smallest of risks, such as simply identifying your dreams. In this way, we are speaking into existence the craziest of goals and then challenging ourselves to think of steps to getting there. These steps could be as small as having a conversation with a person that puts you in the right direction of achieving those goals. In my life, I’ve noticed that these conversations with people I’ve met along my journey of finding my career, have gotten me closer to places I’ve never even thought of being when I was just a new grad from college – with no job, and no plans yet. To put into perspective: one chat with a manager led me to becoming an accountant in entertainment and media, and one text from a CEO led me to getting my first gig as a singer at the House of Blues. And to me, that has made all the difference in my world. Not sure where these jobs will take me, but I think every opportunity met with the luck of taking risks leads to somewhere.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
To be honest it’s hard to identify what my work or career is officially yet, and I think that’s because I still consider it developing evolving.  Right now, I guess I’m an accountant and an artist on the side.  I’m planning to put out an album out and maybe do a small acting reel, but at the moment these are passion projects to keep me sane while I do my day job.  I would hope that sometime in the future I could set up more live shows and maybe even audition for some projects that I’m passionate about being a part of. We’ll see. Right now, with the COVID situation in LA still in recovery mode, I’m trying to live in the present moment. This whole career thing, I’ve learned, is a marathon, not a sprint. I’ve also noticed that I can allow myself to take it one step at a time, and let each step be a part of my story.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.

I would definitely love to take my best friend around to the monumental Asian American districts of LA. I’m kind of a foodie, so we’re eating and ordering at the following places!

Monday, Little Tokyo – Daikoku Ramen Special Ramen and Pork Fried Rice from Daikokuya,

Tuesday, Chinatown – Dim Sum (ordering extra Shumai) from Bao Dim Sum House,

Wednesday, Koreatown – Bossom & Spicy Seafood Sujebi from Hangari,

Thursday, Historic Filipinotown – Sisig & Pancit Canton from Spoon and Pork,

…and then Friday, let’s go watch a show at either the UCB Improv theater for Filipino AF, a musical put on by East West Players at the Aratani Theater, or listen to some jazz at my favorite spot, the Blue Whale (if it opens up again)!

Now, more than ever, places like these need our help. I truly hope that with my little itinerary, this would shed an actual spotlight on some of the amazing places that are representative of the vibrant culture that the Asian American Community has brought to the city. My best friend ain’t ready!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
For purposes of this shoutout, I’d like to thank my parents, number 1, for supporting me through everything. I also probably would not have gotten this shoutout had it not been for Cody Dear, who recommended me to VoyageLA, initially. So, shout out to Cody for believing in me and my story! If I had to reflect on some of biggest opportunities and best memories I’ve had in this career journey thusfar, I’d like to thank my family for supporting my first show at the Chance Theater, my musician friends – Garrett Becker, Matt Jamele, Hank Mehren, Brandon Fansher, Victor San Pedro, Nick Carrillo, Ichi Tanabe, Will Kjeer, and Christina Galisatus for doing Prom/Homecoming Season with me, VOX Productions and Walnut High School for giving me my first gig, and N-Effect Productions for giving us the opportunity to perform at larger venue spaces.  Also thanks Cory Ng for teaching me how to write my own songs and shed bass on Cardi B. I’d lastly like to thank my RSM family for consistently challenging and molding me to reach my potential as the best business professional I can be!

Website: anjimusic.com

Instagram: anji_tan

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnjiTanMusic

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tT4bsiuB7k

Image Credits
Farhan Kamdar, Jonathan Kim, Jacob Luna